Resumo de Pride And Prejudice

Before the modern chick-flick, there was Jane Austen. Her novels speak
to women (be they 18th-century damsels or 20th-century professionals)
in a way that men will never fully understand.

Our heroine Elizabeth Bennet, is intelligent, perceptive, and all too
worldy-wise. The second child of a family cursed with not one but FIVE
daughters, and with the spectre of the bill collector never too far
away, Elizabeth is decidedly aware of being chattel for sale in a
unforgiving marriage market. The weight of her familial obligations lie
heavily upon her shoulders, yet she holds steadfast to her ideals of a
life-partner, and will not settle for less. This results in her
rejection of a proposal from the unbearably pompous Mr. Collins, to the
despair of her distraught mother.

There are many subplots in the story, chief of which involves handsome
and wealthy Mr Bingley, and his courtship of Jane, Elizabeth's older
sister. But the reader's main focus always returns to Elizabeth and her
love-hate relationship with Bingley's best friend Darcy. Darcy is tall,
dark, rich and handsome-- but also proud and aloof. He dissuades
Bingley from marrying Jane Bennet, partly because of her inferior
station.

Yet despite himself, Darcy is captivated by Elizabeth, and her
intelligent and vivacious nature finally topples him from his moral
high horse. He unwillingly, and with great misgivings, bares his soul
to her and asks her for her hand. Unfortunately, Elizabeth at that time
still thought of him as the most insufferable, odious man, especially
for his role in breaking up Jane and Bingley. She rejects him outright.

But the fates were playing a cruel joke on our friend Lizzie, because
later events lead her to realise that far from being a malicious
devil-incarnate, Darcy was an honorable man, a loyal friend and a
doting brother. She now holds him in high esteem, and her heart aches
to think that she had caused him pain, and that by rejecting his suit,
she had probably lost her only chance at true happiness.

Fortunately, as all good chick flicks do, 'Pride and Prejudice' has a
happy ending. Suffice to say that all's well that ends well: both Jane
and Elizabeth are finally united with the men who love them, and whom
they love; and the family burden is much eased.

Austen's novel should be read not just for the love story, universally
appealing as it is, but also for the rich character development, the
complex relationships that the characters have, and particularly for
the insights one gleans about late 17th century English life. During
that time, Women's Rights was not about burning bras and equality. It
was a fight for recognition that women are people too. Then, women were
not seen as legal entities, but as pieces of property. They belonged to
their parents and when married, belonged to their husbands. Thus, they
could not own property, and an unmarried female had to depend on the
charity of her relatives. Hence the unhappy fate of Mrs Bennet, and her
obsession with her daughters' matrimonial affairs.

In the end, we applaud Elizabeth's efforts to remain true to herself,
and rejoice when she finally finds someone who truly deserves her.

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